HD 3490 Final
ABC's: Affect
"How does this make me feel?" Affect: How does this make me feel? Secure: someone has their back and is there for them. They experience comfort when in distress. Insecure: Feel fear, anxiety, anger or rejection or a combination of negative feelings.
Risk
(adversity, disturbances): What challenges are threatening the system? have a negative relationship with health and well-being outcomes. Any factor that threatens a system. Can be cumulative; chronic or acute adversities (like poverty). Factors include: low education, single parent, parent died, parents divorced, foster care, maltreatment, saw violence.
Relative Risk of Premature Death by Family Income
3 times greater for those at the bottom than those at the top. 1.5 times as likely in middle income than those at the top.
School gardens promote physical activity
A 2-year study of school gardens: children with school gardens spent more of the school day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than students in schools without gardens.
Monkey studies
Infant monkeys were placed in a cage with two mothers → the feeding mother and the surrogate mother made of soft cloth. The infant monkeys were attached to the cloth mother and not the wire mother.
Perceived Partner Responsiveness
Perception that individuals communicate understanding, validation and care to their partner's disclosures. The Intimacy Process model
SES and the Mortality of Pets
Pets who have owners who are more affluent live longer than pets who have less affluent owners.
Race and Health: Discrimination
Racial differences in health exist not only because of unequal resources but also exposure to discrimination.
Implications of Psychological Explanation
Social conditions expose people to risk factors and those risk factors cause disease, thereby producing patterns of disease in populations. It follows that once these risk factors are uncovered and addressed through prevention or intervention, the social patterns will be addressed.
Adult Attachment
"All of us, from the cradle to the grave, are happiest when life is organized as a series of excursions, long or short, from the secure base provided by our attachment figure(s)." [Bowlby] We are motivated to form bonds throughout lifespan. The same ABS (Attachment Behavioral System) that governs infant attachment dynamics to parents also governs adult attachment dynamics to romantic partners. We have a network of people who are important to us and this gets restructured through life → a hierarchy where one person is at the top who we turn to when we are distressed. Attachments last a lifetime however the hierarchy restructures. Eg. Mom as a baby, best friend as a teenager, romantic partner as an adult. Couples were asked to rate how responsive they think their partner is in a 20 day study. Some participants experienced low variability in perceived responsiveness , and some ps showed very dramatic changes in perceived responsiveness. Responsiveness variability increased partner relationship anxiety. More likely to develop an adult anxious attachment. When the partner is perceived as being very responsive, you experience a decrease in anxious attachment and develop a secure attachment. On average high responsive partner, decreases in attachment avoidance
ABC's: Cognition
"Can I expect others to be there for me?" Secure: Yes Consistently responsive care is received from figure. This is also the case for romantic relationships. Avoidant: No → consistently unresponsive care from attachment figure. Do not receive supportive responses when in need. Parents are not responsive to their child's needs. Anxious/Ambivalent: Maybe → Inconsistent responsive care from their attachment figure. Sometimes they receive responsive support when in distress, sometimes they don't respond, and sometimes they respond but are not very appropriate to their child's needs.
Benjamin Barber Quote on Mindsets
"I don't divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and failures. I divide the world into the learners and non-learners."
Anxious / Ambivalent Response to the ABCs
"Maybe" [inconsistently responsive]
Avoidant Response to the ABCs
"No" [consistently unresponsive]
Quote From the Book: Class Matters
"One way to think of a person's position in society is to imagine a hand of cards. Everyone is dealt four cards, one from each suit: education, income, occupation and wealth, the four commonly used criteria for gauging class. Face cards in a few categories may land a player in the upper middle class. At first, a person's class is his parents' class. Later, he may pick up a new hand of his own; it is likely to resemble that of his parents, but not always." (p. 9)
Sociology in Medicine
"Societies in part create the disease they experience and further, they materially shape they ways in which diseases are to be experienced. Cross cultural studies of disease consistently show that the varieties of human affliction owe as much to the inventiveness of culture as they do to the vagaries of nature. If disease is seen in its full dimensions as a phenomenon besetting persons in communities, its status as a culturally constituted reality becomes apparent."
Growth Mindset as a Basic Human Right
"Someone said to me recently 'In your culture, struggle is a bad word'. And it's true, we never say 'Oh I had a fantastic struggle today', but we should. Everything we value; those are things we should be happy to struggle for, and I think we do our students a service if we do say to them 'That was a phenomenal struggle'. It teaches them that effort is valuable and important and it's the thing that we admire....If we foster a growth mindset in our homes and schools, we will give our students the tools to succeed in their pursuits and to become productive citizens. Let's not waste any more lives, because once we know that abilities are capable of such growth, it becomes a basic human right for us all to live in places that create that growth." Dweck (2006). Mindset
ABC's: Behavior
"What should I do then?" Secure: know that when they need someone they will turn to them. Ambivalent: Amp up the signal that they are distressed [with anger and demands]. Avoidant: make a decision to distance themselves because they know that they won't receive the response that they are needing.
John Watson's View on Child Rearing
"When you are tempted to pet your child, remember that mother love is a dangerous instrument. There are serious rocks ahead for the over-kissed child."
Secure Response to the ABCs
"Yes" [consistently responsive]
DESIRED
"feeling excited, aroused, passionate, DESIRED" • Prototype: a romantic/sexual partner Romantic relationships are the only human relationships that are characterized by all 3 types of love.
LOVED
"feeling protected, secure, cared for, LOVED" • Prototype: a child's love for a parent You feel secure through this type of love.
NEEDED
"feeling protective, caring, responsible, NEEDED" • Prototype: a parent's love for a child You are making others feel secure.
Nature as a Buffer: Academic Achievement
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nature--v Risk Factors: poverty, homelessness --> Positive outcomes: Academic achievement Achievement Gap: Well-established linkages between various risk factors and academic achievement. Overall, children who experience poverty under perform academically v. higher SES students. Low income students perform lower in reading + math, longitudinally, 2nd-7th grade. Residential mobility is associated with lower achievement. Nature may buffer the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement. The effects of greenness on academic performance are most pronounced in schools with the highest community-level risk factors (e.g., low income, low education, single-parent families).
Nature as a Moderator (Buffer)
. . . . . . .Nature--v Risk / Adversity --> Positive outcomes How does nature moderate the effect of risk or adversity on health / well-being? Does nature "buffer" the effect of risk/adversity on health? How might the natural environment dampen/ buffer/ attenuate/moderate... the impact of risk factors on human health / function? The presence of nature buffers and decreases the relationship between a risk factor and a health outcome. Nature could also be considered a protective factor.
What Your Doctor Didn't Tell You
1. Don't be poor. If you can, stop. If you can't try not to be poor for long. 2. Live near good supermarkets and affordable fresh produce stores. 3. Live in a safe leafy neighborhood with parks and green space nearby. 4. Work in a rewarding and respected job with good compensation, benefits, and control over your work. 5. If you work, don't lose your job or get laid off.
Conventional 5 Tips for Better Health
1. Don't smoke. If you can, stop. If you can't, cut down. 2. Stay on a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables. 3. Make sure you stay physically active and exercise at least 3 times a week. 4. Manage stress by talking things through and taking time to slow down, or planning relaxing get aways. 5. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
There are no racial differences in savings behavior at equivalent levels of income... Rather racial differences in wealth reflect:
1. Intergeneration transfers of wealth (White Americans are more likely to inherit wealth.). 2. Differences in growth in home equity given where Blacks and Whites live (Housing quality is different for each group.).
Natural views from school linked to success
101 public high schools in Michigan: views of trees & shrubs from the cafeteria & classrooms associated with higher standardized test scores, graduation rates, percentage of students planning to attend college, and few occurrences of criminal behavior. Controlled for community SES and other factors related to the resources of the community.
Views of nature speed surgery recovery
1980's study: surgery patients with views of trees & grass recovered faster and requested less pain medication than patients with a view of a brick wall.
Unfair Treatment and Allostatic Load
233 African American adults (64% women) aged 37-85 years 22 biomarker measure of allostatic load (AL) computed from seven broad physiological systems (cardiovascular, lipid, glucose, inflammation, sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, HPA axis). Higher levels of everyday unfair treatment exposure was associated with higher allostatic load.
Risk factors predict health outcomes
4-year old's exposed to 5+ risk factors have 3x level of psychological distress v. peers with 0-1 risk factors. 9-10 year old's who experienced 6+ risk factors persist 50% less on learned helplessness task v. those with 0-1 risk factor. Among high school students: 34% of those exposed to 7+ risks smoke daily v. 7% of those exposed to one risk. Among 6-9 year olds, 59% with 5 or more risk factors are in bottom quartile on standardized reading tests v. 7% of those with 0 risk factors.
SES as a Fundamental Cause
A fundamental social cause involves resources like knowledge, money, power, and social connections that determine the extent to which people are able to avoid risks for morbidity and mortality. Cannot be fully understood by tracing through the mechanisms that happen to link them to disease at a particular time. Interventions targeted at intervening mechanisms cannot obliterate the effects of fundamental causes. Focusing solely on individual risk factors like smoking, obesity, and substance use as a means to improve public health is missing the forest for the trees. If we truly wish to reduce inequalities in health, we must address the social inequalities that so reliably produce them.
Reactive development
A purpose is fostered by reacting to a life event that has happened to someone. Something around the individual has happened that leads to meaningful engagement in the task. Reactive people can remember the moment where they began to feel the purpose, while proactive people may not necessarily remember when the hobby turned into a purpose. Transformative life events
Research conceptualization of purpose.
A stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self. It has something to do with other people and the world around. People who use this definition see purpose as a prosocial behavior. The definition of purpose is different depending on how it is approached.
There Is a Racial Gap in Health in Early, Mid and Late Life: Minority/White Mortality Ratios, 2000
African americans and native americans have elevated mortality rates, relative to white americans. The mortality rate difference decreases with later age (85 + for african americans).
John Bowlby
After WWII in the UK, there were a lot of orphans and when placed in orphanages where they were well fed and taken care of, however the children were very upset and not thriving. For a child to develop normally what they need is a warm continuous association with at least one person. Bowlby wanted to know why human bonds were so important in well-being. We are an altricial species → it is evolutionarily helpful for us to form close bonds with our caregivers. He formed the Attachment system → a physiological regulatory system.
Social Identity Examples
Age Sex Race Religion Occupation Ethnicity Nationality Sexual orientation Geographic region Social class Political affiliation Mental health status etc.
Biological/Chemical Environment
Air Water Soil
Purpose
An indicator of human flourishing (see associations)--> they thrive and not just get by. a component of psychological well-being. Having a life aim or sense of direction is essential feature of eudaemonic wellbeing. may be a component of psychological well being. Questions on purpose need to be asked when measuring health and wellbeing. This idea is also embedded in eudaimonic wellbeing.
Do you have a reason for living? Study
Another study in Japan asked people epidemiological questions (like weight etc.). One question was: do you have a reason for living? A simple yes or no question. This was also a longitudinal study. Attrition (passing away) is an issue in longitudinal studies. Those who said no, were twice as likely to die during the study (which was a 4 year study). Age or cognitive functioning wasn't an effect. These results have also been found in older adults in the US. Higher scores were less likely to die over the course of analysis.
Purpose and Racial/Ethnic Diversity
As a society, we value racial and ethnic diversity→ as seen with the increasingly diversifying nation. However, personal views on diversity can affect comfort levels. Cities with greater diversity scored lower on civic trust and social capital. Thus, we can like something in value but may not feel great when in that context.
Intimacy in Relationships
Associated with couples' relationship satisfaction and well-being. The lack of intimacy in romantic relationships has negative consequences such as destructive conflict, seeking couple therapy, and relationship dissolution. Lack of intimacy leads to higher chances of conflict with each other and higher chances of the relationship ending.
Early attachment relationships
Attachment is seen as a special relationship between babies and caregivers that help form later attachments.
"secondary drive" theory
Attachment was seen as a secondary drive that helped reach primary drives (food, etc). It reduces primary needs. When the child is separated from their caregivers but is cared for and well fed, the baby should be fine. However, this wasn't the case in post WWII reality
Attachment is associated with intimacy development
Avoidant attachment: fear to be very close to other people and a need for independence. Their interactions in this IPM might be affected by this individual difference.
Cumulative risk is associated with
Behavior problems. Various risk factors are added up to find total risk.
Stereotype Threat
Being in a situation where a negative stereotype about your social identity could apply. When this is the case, the person is aware of a stereotype that might apply to them. This then affects by behavior and a fear of inadvertently confirming the stereotype. Or are afraid of being treated in terms of the stereotype. Or confirming a negative stereotype about your group.
What kind of stereotype threat would a white person feel in a racially diverse situation?
Being seen as a racist.
Examples of Everyday Unfair Treatment
Being treated with less courtesy or respect than others. Receiving poorer service than others at restaurants or stores. Being called names, insulted, threatened, or harassed. Having people act afraid of the respondent. Having people act as if you were dishonest, not smart, or not as good as they were.
Top Rungs of the SES Ladder
Best education Good housing Respected jobs Ample savings
Neighborhood Features
Biological/Chemical Environment Built Environment Social Environment
Interventions Studies with Growth Mindset
Black and white Ps were asked to write a letter to a younger student experiencing academic struggles, encouraging them. In one condition Ps are encouraged to endorse a view of intelligence being malleable. In the other condition, Ps were not asked to write a letter. After 9 months GPA was measured, the intervention group showed significant increase than the control groups. Black students showed the biggest difference between the groups → raising performance. White and Black Ps were given 20 minutes of instruction from a student who was slightly older than them. Black students showed an increase in their GPA. Possible reasoning→ prejudice may be there, but there is room for me here/i can make something out of my experience. Incremental view of ability helps reduce stereotype threat.
Obesity
Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body Mass Index (BMI): A measure of an adult's weight in relation to his or her height, specifically the adult's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters.
Intervention (+ Intervention Research) Implications
Bringing people to nature. Bringing nature to people:
Allostatic Load Index
Cardiovascular --> Resting SBP, Resting DBP, Resting heart rate. Lipid Metabolism --> BMI, Waist to hip circumference, Serum triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol. Glucose metabolism --> Blood hemoglobin, Fasting blood glucose, Homeostasis insulin Inflammation --> Serum C reactive protein, Serum IL 6, Fibrinogen, E selectin, ICAM 1 Sympathetic nervous system --> Urine epinephrine, Urine noreepinephrine Parasympathetic nervous system --> R R interval (sd), Root mean square (ms), Low frequency spectral power, High frequency spectral power HPA-axis --> Urine cortisol, Blood DHEA-S
Neighborhood greenness & lower BMI's
Children in greener neighborhoods were less likely to increase their BMI's. Neighborhoods with more park area are associated with more physical activity among children and among adults.
Prevalence of Health Problems in Children
Children injuries and asthma are more likely in children from lower level families.
Cues in the Environment
Cues that distinguish a certain social identity.-- being in the minority, feeing out of touch with the cues. If there are no contingencies tied to a social identity, then those identities will not be as salient. Like not having loans rejected on the basis of race.
Premature Death
Death before the age of 65
Excess Death
Death that is not predicted at any given point in time. You should be able to predict in a given time frame, the number of deaths → however, if the number is higher than what is predicted, those are considered premature/excess deaths. The excess deaths of african americans is equivalent to a commercial airline full of african americans falling out of the sky everyday for a year.
SES and Health: Stress
Demands and threats are a lot more prevalent at the bottom of the ladder. Exposure to stress increases this way. Those at the top do not live stress free lives, however, due to their access to resources, they are better able to cope with the stress. Stress takes a toll on the body overtime. Early signs of disease become more common the lower the rung. The less education, the more early signs of disease.
Nature moderates risk-health relations
Dichotimically (yes and no) asked about life stressors. Perceived general health and greenery near the living environment was measured. Green space within 3 km radius moderated the risk - health relation (N=4500+) - i.e.: between stressful life events (SLE) and general health.
The Larry Sommers Argument on Gender and Math Performance
Differences in biology might be accounting for differences. Another study told students that this is a difficult test, however, women have shown to do worse on it than men. men showed a boost in performance and women's performance went down --> Possibly experiencing a stereotype lift. When Ps were told that the test showed no gender-differences in the performance, the gender difference reduced, and women showed a boost in performance.
SES and Health: Neighborhood
Different kinds of neighborhoods with different facilities and safety levels. They can be arrayed on ladders. Hints at the health problems people are likely to face by living there.
Age-Adjusted Heart Disease Death Rates for Blacks and Whites, 1950-2000
Disease has been going down, but racial disparities have been going up.
The Attributes of Class
Education Income Occupation Wealth These are referred to the SocioEconomic Status in psychology.
Additional Stereotype Threat Studies
Elderly taking short term memory tests. White males and golf performance. Gay men in childcare settings. Women and driving performance. Asian women and math performance.
Life Expectancy for White and Black Men with Comparable Income Levels
Even when equated on SES status, african americans have less health benefits than white counterparts. The black-white difference is largest in low SES groups, and smallest in high SES groups. However, a difference still exists. The gain of life is largest for black men who have moved up the rung.
Middle Rungs of the SES Ladder
Far less resources than the top More resources than the bottom
Three Types of Love
Feeling loved, Feeling Needed (love for), Feeling Desired.
Time Course of Pair Bonding (In Terms of Three Types of Love)
Feeling passion for a romantic partner has a dramatic increase over the first 2 years and starts to decline at around the 2nd year of the relationship. Feeling cared for and feeling care for starts to increase during the first 2 years of a relationship but at a slower rate. It keeps increasing until year 2-3 where it becomes relatively stable.
Aristotle
Greek translation: Best Purpose Happiness is achieved through practicing virtuous action (ethikē areté). Euadaimonia (having a good inner spirit). What gives our life meaning through mindfulness.
Nature moderates income-health linkages
Green space reduces the influence of poverty on health (N=40,000,000). Mortality rates increase with lesser income. When there is more greenspace, the relationship between mortality rates and income dampens and reduces the mortality rates. The slope becomes less steep suggesting less differences between the income groups when living in spaces with more nature.
Health is not equally distributed
Health is not evenly distributed due to risk factors not being equally distributed → low SES groups. People of low socio-economic status (SES) are at greater risk for: cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, obesity, Infant mortality, Premature death. Neighborhoods that are relatively close can have dramatically different health statuses/life expectancies. Poor and ethnic/racial minority groups experience more risk factors and adversity → which means black and latino children experience more adversity while growing up.
Perceived Partner Responsiveness Affects
Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being --> perceived partner responsiveness was correlated with greater hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Greater perceived partner responsiveness showed an increase in eudaimonic well-being but not hedonic well-being a year later. Sleep quality --> People who perceive their partners as more responsive reported greater subjective and objective sleep quality. Mortality --> perceived partner responsiveness did not directly predict mortality. However, showed reduced negative affect → meaning they were better able to regulate negative affect which affects mortality.
Built Environment
Housing Transportation Commercial establishments Billboards Parks Libraries
Meaningfulness
How clear is your sense of purpose? How well do you understand what gives your life meaning? How clearly do you know what it is that makes your life feel worthwhile?
Goal Orientation
How hard are you working to make your long-term aims a reality? How engaged are you in carrying out the plans you set for yourself?
Beyond the Self
How important is it for you to make the world a better place in some way? How often do you hope that the work you do positively influences others?
Psychological vs. Sociological Explanation
How might we test the validity of these two different views? To test the fundamental cause explanation, we need to demonstrate the role of the utilization of resources like money and education in a way that is empirically distinguishable from SES itself.
how old were you the first time you fell in love?
How old were you the first time you fell in love? When you were 6 - 8 months old. This is a human universal. This doesn't have to be to a biological parent → just the primary caregiver.
Nature is linked to self-reported health
In a study of more than 250,000 people, Dutch researchers found an association between the % of green space near home and perceived health. Lesser bad health reports in homes near larger green spaces.
Study on Daily Stressors and Purpose
In daily lives of purposeful people, when some stress or negative event occurs, people's negative affect was higher, however it was less extreme for people who scored higher on the measure of purpose in life. People who scored lower, showed less affect regulation and more negative symptoms on stressor days. Thus, the negative stressors are less impactful for purposeful people.
SES and Health: Personal Behaviors
Individual health damaging behaviors, drinking, smoking, risky behavior. Smoking rates go down with more education. People living at the bottom tend to live in environments that induce unhealthy behaviors. Easy access to smoking but hard access to job opportunities and healthy eating, exercise, etc.
Attraction and Purpose in Life
Individuals who score higher on measures of purpose in life are rated as more attractive by others. We may recognize purpose when we see it. Purposeful people tend to score higher on interpersonal appeal → attractiveness and likeability, potential for friendship, interest in engaging in conversation with them.
Why Contingencies of Social Identity Matter
Induce stereotype threat --> Impair performance on standardized tests. Effects are strongest among individuals who are most motivated to disconfirm the negative stereotype. Stereotype threat can be reduced by --> Removing cues that signal threatening contingencies. Emphasizing an incremental view of intelligence. Encouraging self affirmation and belonging.
Environmental Justice
Inequitable access to nature --> The most in need may have the least access to nature.. Nature has the power to level the playing field if people have access. Disadvantaged communities tend to have much more limited access to nature. High minority neighborhoods have less access to recreational fitness spaces. Research suggests that disadvantaged communities may be more likely to live in places without access to nature and recreational opportunities. More blacks than whites have more parks in walking distance, however, whites have more park acreage. High poverty rates are associated with less accessibility. Street trees are less prevalent in black, low income and renter neighborhoods in tampa fl.
Growth Mindset
Intelligence is not fixed and can be developed. Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism (which is seen as a comment on their current abilities), and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. As a result, they reach even-higher levels of achievement. All this gives them a greater sense of free will. Not = to everyone being the same. But einstein wasn't einstein until he spent years of effort and labor.
Fixed Mind set
Intelligence is static/a fixed trait. Leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to avoid challenges, give up easily (when faced with obstacles), see effort as fruitless or worse (since ability = things coming naturally to you), ignore useful negative feedback, and feel threatened by the success of others. When others succeed, the person will convince themselves and others that the success was due to luck. As a result, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential. All this confirms a deterministic view of the world.
Attachment Behavioral System (Dynamics )
Is the attachment figure available if/when needed? If no, the baby is anxious and distressed and will be preoccupied with finding the attachment figure/checking on the attachment figure. If yes, baby is secure and will explore. This is one of the states of attachment development → the clear-cut attachment stage. This thinking applies to adult attachment as well.
Purpose in Life Research
It is both familiar and unfamiliar to people → it is used in media a lot but when probed it is unclear whether we use it the same way (meaning of life, goals, etc.). An ancient concept
Social Environment
Levels of neighborhood stress and support Enforcement of common rules for public behavior Behavioral norms
Lower SES = Poorer Health Model
Low SES --> Higher STRESS --> Greater DISEASE Risk --> Poorer HEALTH
A sense of purpose and Health Outcomes
Lower risk of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline. Lower risk of stroke Lower incidents of sleep disturbance Lower risk of myocardial infarction Reduced impact of neurotoxicity Lower health care utlization Greater use of preventative services Fewer somatic symptoms Enhanced recover after surgery
Stereotype Threat and Gender
Males and females who were good at math were given math tests that were either easy or hard. Women performed just as well as men on the easy test. But underperform on the difficult test. These women had the same scores as their male counterparts prior to the test. When frustrated, the women may experience heightened stereotype threat → being worried to confirm that stereotype, which then takes vigilance away from performing the test.
Why Nature as a moderator?
Moderation is important because of the theoretical implications --> It had the ability to dampen impact which means it has practical value. → can be used as another strategy to improve wellbeing. Public Health: potential to dampen impact of risk factors; To reduce income and ethnic disparities in health and functioning. Practical insights for policy + intervention; another leverage point.
Remedies to Stereotype Threat
More than native ability, one's mindset determines why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others do not. Changing people's mindset to the growth mindset (as opposed to the fixed mindest).
Comfort in Diversity and Purpose Study
N = 116 college undergrads (58% female) in Chicago. Group one was asked to write about their purpose. The second group was asked to write about the last movie they saw. Then participants were made to ride the train which went through different diverse neighborhoods. At each stop Ps were asked to write what they felt at each stop. The ethnic composition of the train was kept track of → what percentage of the train was the same ethnicity as the P. When the train looked more like the P they felt more comfortable. For the Ps who wrote about purpose showed a statistical flat line → mood was not contingent on the passengers on the train.
Nature's Direct Effects (Main Effects Models)
Nature (IV) --> Positive Outcomes (DV) How does nature affect positive outcomes? Nature affects... • Mental health • Physical health • BMI / Physical activity • (-) Myopia • Social Interaction • Cognitive Functioning • Academic Achievement
Nature Conclusions
Nature is a resilience resource. - nature may buffer effects of adversity Nature is health policy. - nature contributes to individual and community well-being. Nature is environmental justice. - nature may mitigate health disparities; if access is equitable. Green infrastructure should be considered an essential service for all. It shouldn't be something that only rich people can get to.
Nature as a Buffer: low birthweight
Nature may buffer the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and birthweight. Low SES babies have lower birth weight. In Spain, women with low education and nearby nature were less likely to have low birth weight babies than those with low education and little nearby nature. Similar findings, examining SES (education) at the neighborhood level.
Nature as a Buffer
Nature may have the potential to dampen the negative health outcomes among vulnerable populations and thereby reduce health disparities. Risk Factors: • Poverty • Cumulative Risk (instability, low education, parents divorce...) • Stressful Life Events (moving, family discord...) • Adverse Childhood Experiences Health, Well-being, Competence: • Physical health, morbidity, morality. • Mental health • Academic achievement • Cognitive functioning • Social competence • Allostatic load
Nature as a moderator: green bolsters resilience
Nearby green space buffers the stress - mental health relation. Kids were asked about stressors → being picked on, parental aggression, loss. More stress, more psychological distress. When kids were near more nature, the effect was dampened. What would explain this → mediators: Can be through physical activity as nature increases physical activity. Can also be through bolstering social connection.
Obesity Trends Among U.S. Adults between 1985 and 2009
Obesity has increased significantly all through out the US, with some states leading over others. Important to look at the access to enabling better health. However, individual behaviors also matter.
Social learning
Observing others engage in meaningful ways. Individuals who may spend enough time in proximity with other purposeful people. Witnessing the engagement and purposeful effort put into their work inspires the observer to put the same amount of effort.
Harry Harlow (1958)
Our assigned mission as psychologists is to analyze all facets of human and animal behavior into their component variables. So far as love or affection is concerned, psychologists have failed in their mission. The little we know about love does not transcend simple observation and the little we write about it has been written better by poets and novelists. Studied love and attachment through the monkey studies.
Discrimination Persists
Pairs of young, well groomed, well spoken college men with identical resumes apply for 350 advertised entry level jobs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Two teams were black and two were white. In each team, one of the applicants indicated on their resume that he had served an 18 month prison sentence for cocaine possession. It was easier for a white felony convict than a black felony convict to get a job. No Criminal Record: White --> 34% No Criminal Record: Black --> 14% Criminal Record: White --> 17% Criminal Record: Black --> 5%
Greening Vacant Land --> Mental Health
Philadelphia PA, Vacant lots "clustered random assignment" --> 1) greening 2) trash clean-up only 3) control "Greened" = "reproducible process" ... trash removal, land grading, grass + tree planting. RESULTS: Greening associated with significant reductions in feeling "depressed" + "worthless" in folks living near the lot. (Trash removal alone - no effect).
Income and ethnic disparities in risk
Poor + ethnic / racial minority groups experience more risk factors, more adversity. Poor children experience more adversities. Black and Hispanic children exposed to more adversities.
Bottom Rungs of the SES Ladder
Poor education Bad housing Low-wage jobs Little savings
Stereotype Threat and Race
Ps are told that Raven's Progressive Matrices is a test of cognitive ability, in the high threat condition, it is said to be an IQ test. On IQ tests black Ps did worse than white Ps (maybe for a similar reason that women did worse on the math test). This effect might not be seen in other black societies. The standard test showed minimal difference. The low threat condition said that the test doesn't relate to any abilities and is just a puzzle. In this condition, racial disparities go away.
Purpose in life in the context of Covid-19
Ps were asked to wake up in the morning and write down how purposeful they expected to feel that day, and then in the evening measure how purposeful they actually felt that day. This was very discrepant → people thought they would feel much more purposeful than they actually felt. The more stressors they experienced the less purposeful they felt. Purpose could be particularly beneficial during covid, however there are so many contingencies that make it more challenging to be purposeful. In the context of positive experiences, purpose is doing the same thing right now for people as it was doing before covid. When positive things happen, people reap benefits from that, however, purposeful people reap less benefit from that positive thing. Mood is less contingent on what is happening to us. Purposeful people are able to remain more even keel. In the context of stressors in covid, purposeful people are reacting more so than less purposeful people. On days where people report negative events, their positive affect drops, however, purposeful people's affect drops even more. On stressful days, purposeful people were able to stay more resilient, whoever, in the context of covid, they become more vulnerable. The same contingencies that made things purposeful may be being lost during this time.
Self-esteem and Purpose
Ps were told to take a photo of themselves and put it on a "new social media site." So students of ivy schools can get to know each other. Number of likes after 15 minutes was manipulated. → above average, average, less than average. The more likes someone was told they received the more their self-esteem. This effect was there for people who scored lower than their peers on purpose prior to the study. For those who scored high on purpose, showed high self-esteem beforehand and was unrelated to the number of likes.
Purpose in Life Conclusions
Purpose appears to be an asset for those who have it. Purpose appears to eliminate or reduce affective reactivity to mundane challenge or stress. Purpose functions as a resource for self-regulation. Emerging evidence that purpose can stave off positive affective reactivity. This suggests purpose is useful when things go especially poorly or especially well.
Purpose and Stress
Purpose buffers the impact of daily stressors. Purpose is beneficial because it has a great network of correlates (like money, agency, etc). Purpose is beneficial also because it could be considered a component of wellbeing. Purpose may also play a meaningful role in the experiences we have in life→ shaping them in more favorable ways.
Purpose Defined as a Compass
Purpose is a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning. Purpose directs life goals and daily decisions by guiding the use of finite personal resources. Instead of governing behavior, purpose offers direction just as a compass offers direction to a navigator. finite resources are overly spread but effectively allocated. Allows for optimal allocation of resources. A compass → This is most consistent, it is a direction not a place you arrive at. You carry it with you so as you move forward it is always there. It is a self-organizing life aim, rather than a goal to reach. An overarching view of who you are.
How is purpose measured?
Purpose literature is assessed as an individual difference. People endorse it to different degrees for different purpose measures. Commonly used purpose measures --> (1) To me, the things I do are all worthwhile. (2) I have lots of reasons for living. Dimensions --> Meaningfulness, Goal Orientation, Beyond the Self
Pathways Through Which Race and Ethnicity Affect Health
Race and Ethnicity --> Lower Socioeconomic Resources --> Poorer HEALTH Race and Ethnicity --> Added burden of race & discrimination --> Poorer HEALTH
Myopia: time outdoors inversely linked to near-sightedness
Rates of near-sightedness have surged in recent decades. Studies suggest an inverse relation between time outdoors and the incidence or progression of myopia. --> Spending more time outside might reduce the progression of myopia.
The SES Ladder
Rungs represent the resources that people need to live a healthy life. It predicts how long you will live and how healthy you are during your lifetime. The more advantaged our lives are, the longer we will live. The bottom rungs die younger and come across more sickness. Each rung makes a difference. → a graded relationship between SES and health.
Sociological Explanation of SES Differences
SES (Income, Education, Occupation) --> Health (Morbidity, Mortality) SES has a direct effect on health and cannot be reduced to other mechanisms. Societies in general create and shape patterns of disease. It is not on an individual location or time. SES and health are so consistent across time, it is a fundamental cause of health inequalities.
Psychological Explanation of SES Differences
SES (Income, Education, Occupation) --> Neighborhood, Health Behaviors, Stress --> Health (Morbidity, Mortality) SES has an indirect effect on health through various mechanisms
Cumulative Survival by Family Income and Preventability of Death
SES gradients in mortality will be stronger in diseases that are easily treatable (but depend on resources). Study found that gaps between survival curves for treatable diseases were much bigger with higher education → the educational effect [people know how to treat it better]. However this effect decreases in later life (85+) → resources have limited usefulness in old age at prevention.
Interpersonal Process Model Of Intimacy
Self-disclosure promotes perceived responsiveness which in turn leads to greater feelings of intimacy among married couples.
Self-Disclosure
Sharing thoughts and feelings to your partner. Disclosures should be reciprocal and not one sided. Both sharing and listening. This develops gradually. This is not enough to create intimate relationships however.
It's More Than Will Power
Socioeconomic Resources --> Environment (physical, social, built) --> Health Behaviors --> Health Socioeconomic Resources --> Psychological Resources (coping skills, resiliency, optimism) --> Health Behaviors --> Health Environment (physical, social, built) <--> Psychological Resources (coping skills, resiliency, optimism) Heavy marketing of cigarettes & alcohol. Easy access to fast food. Difficulty finding supermarkets & pharmacies. Fewer education & employment opportunities.
Robert Reich Quote on SES Discrepancies
Some inequality of income and wealth is inevitable, if not necessary. If an economy is to function well, people need incentives to work hard and innovate. The pertinent question is not whether income and wealth inequality is good or bad. It is at what point do these inequalities become so great as to pose a serious threat to our economy, our ideal of equal opportunity and our democracy."
Bringing People to Nature
Summer camps, parks + recreation programming, partnerships with physicians and healthcare organizations.
How Do Different Attachment Styles Develop?
The ABC's Cognition, Affect, Behavior.
Racial Empathy Gap
The absence of positive emotions is an important component of subtle prejudice. The absence of positive emotions for Blacks is the strongest predictor of White's opposition to affirmative action in employment and opposition to an active role of government in reducing racial inequalities. Other predictors considered included: age, gender, income, education, individual and group self-interests, political preference, stratification beliefs, conservatism, traditional prejudice, modern racism. Across 4 countries in Europe, the absence of positive emotions was a strong predictor of opposition to policies regarding immigrant out-groups. This measure of subtle contemporary prejudice was a stronger predictor than measures of traditional prejudice. Feelings are a good covert indicator of subtle prejudice. How often you feel sympathy and admiration for black people are predictors of subtle prejudice.
Race and Health: Wealth
The average white family has 79,000 in wealth. 10 times less for black families. Income disparities exist even when the family structure and income is the same for black and white men later.
Contingencies of Social Identity
The cues within particular settings that tell people they are being evaluated and judged based on a social identity they have. People often see themselves in terms of whichever one of their allegiances [identities] is most under attack....But whether he accepts or conceals it, proclaims it discreetly or flaunts it, it is with that allegiance that the person concerned identifies. The most psychologically impactful identity contingencies are those that in some way threaten the individual. Our allegiance to our social identities affects its impact.
Wealth
The economic reserves a household has to cushion shortfalls in income.
Income
The flow of resources in and out of a household.
Age at Death by Grave-Stone Height in Glasgow Grave-yards
The longer the grave marker the longer the life-- 5 years longer for men and 7 years longer for women. Class affects longevity.
Social Identity
The part of our personal identity—our sense of who we are—that comes from our group membership and the social categories to which we belong.
SES as a Fundamental Cause of Inequalities in Health
The psychological explanation emphasizes the mediators, and the sociological explanation emphasizes the differences in distributions itself. Focusing on individual risk factors as a way for improving public health is an ineffective method. Social inequalities need to be addressed to improve the situations.
Differences in Neighborhood Access to Healthy and Unhealthy Resources
There are fewer markets with healthy food in low income neighborhoods, but more bars and liquor stores.
Three Pathways to Purpose in Life
There is no such thing as finding purpose → that may not be how purposeful acquisition works. Proactive development Reactive development Social learning
The Intimacy Process Model (IPM)
This process then affects A's personal and relationship outcomes AND A's responsiveness when B self-discloses. Activated by one individual disclosing, → continues when the second person responds appropriately, → for the interaction to become intimate, the discloser must feel valued and cared for → when this occurs the relationship will have better outcomes and will help form appropriate responses when the discloser changes to the other partner. Both person's goals, fears and personality influence the process.
Nature fosters social interaction
Treed spaces within urban public housing communities (in Chicago) are associated with more use & social interaction. Twice as many people used green spaces compared to barren spaces. Green spaces support children's play and intergenerational interaction. treed-spaces are used more and are associated with more social interaction. Twice as many people use treed-spaces. Support children's play and intergenerational interaction. This is compared to barren areas.
What are some situations where a negative stereotype about your social identity could apply?
Usually occurs in situations where there is a lot to lose. "Having a snake lose in the house." Causes vigilance and takes up cognitive resources. Age Sex Race Religion Occupation Ethnicity Nationality Sexual orientation Geographic region Social class Political affiliation Mental health status etc. can happen to anyone -- even eminem
Attachment Conclusions
We are motivated to form bonds throughout lifespan. Early experiences shape future adult relationships. Disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness are important predictors of intimacy. Relationship strengths (i.e., perceived partner responsiveness) are linked to greater health and well-being.
clear-cut attachment stage
When babies show a clear preference for a person [at 6 -8 months] They also experience separation distress. They also have a stranger anxiety→ this was not the case before the formation of this clear cut attachment. Babies become more mobilized during this stage where they can move around.
SES and Health: Race
While the racial composition of those in poverty are white, a very small percentage of white people are in poverty. Highest rates in african americans and native americans.
Black and White Boys Raised in Wealthy Families
White boys are more likely to remain rich, while black boys are more likely to fall to the bottom than remain on top. This is the opposite for poor white and black boys.
Physical Distancing Study on Stereotype Threat
White males at Stanford were told that they would have a conversation and were shown pictures of two people who they would have a conversation with. The P is made to arrange the seating for the other two people for the conversation. How the chairs are arranged is measured: • With 2 white guys talking about love and relationships: 37 inches apart • With 2 white guys talking about racial profiling: 37 inches apart • With 2 black guys talking about love and relationships: 37 inches apart • With 2 black guys talking about racial profiling: 39 inches apart (further apart). Ps were made to take an implicit prejudice test prior to the experiment. Least prejudiced people positioned the chairs further apart → arguably very upset about talking to two black guys over this topic over the fear of making a mistake and saying the wrong thing and being viewed as racist → a prospect which would be very upsetting to them.
Ori
Yoruban translation: Head; Destiny. inner head, where one's path is constructed and considered. With the mind we can reflect and construct our view of destiny and who we are going to be.
Stereotype Lift
a boost in performance which occurs when downward comparisons are made with denigrate outgroup members
Raven's Progressive Matrices
an intelligence test that is based on pictures, not words, thus making it relatively unaffected by language or cultural background. Which small square continues the pattern of the big square. Considered a goal standard for IQ tests.
Proactive development
arises out of consistent, continuous engagement. A hobby that turns into a purpose. → like a snowball Sustained, gradual, and effortful cultivation over time.
Intimacy
it's an interpersonal process • process --> takes time to develop • interpersonal --> requires at least two people applies to all types of interpersonal relationships
the over-kissed child
more than ONE kiss ... PER YEAR
Infant Attachment Theories
pre-1950: "secondary drive" theory of infant love. WHO report (1951): "...a warm, continuous relationship with at least one person... " Bowlby's hypothesis: "inborn (behavioral) system regulates proximity to caregivers" (just like physiological regulatory systems)
A protective factor
the moderator either has no effect in low risk groups or its effect is magnified in the presence of the risk variable.
Finite Resources
time, money, energy
"intimare"
to make the innermost known
Bringing Nature to People
tree-planting initiatives schoolyard greening school gardens green roofs, green alleys Bringing nature into the city.
Asian Women and Math Performance
when gender is made salient performance suffers, but when race is made salient there is a boost in performance.
Purpose in Life and Happiness Study
~5,700 adults in UK (Mage = 66.65) To what extent do you feel the things you do in life are worthwhile? 0 (not at all) - 10 (very). Measured 38 indicators of adjustment, two years later Gains in worthwhile ratings were associated with more favorable adjustment. This was a longitudinal study and the same questions were asked multiple times over a while. The people who scored higher on this question → increased their score with time, boded well for people in terms of their well-being.
Biological/Chemical Environment Hazards and Health Effects
• Air & water pollution • Noise • Waste • Lead paint • Other environmental hazards • Respiratory diseases • Hearing loss •Sleep deprivation • Developmental delays • Impaired cognition
Built Environment Hazards and Health Effects
• Housing-related environmental toxins • Allergens • Inadequate access to healthy food • Increased exposure to fast food, alcohol and tobacco products • Exposure to tobacco smoke • Lack of recreation • Asthma • Obesity • Alcohol and tobacco addiction (leading to liver, lung and cardiovascular disease) • Hypertension (due to obesity and lack of exercise) • Compromised immune system
Two questions capture the absent of positive emotions:
• How often do you feel sympathy for Blacks? • How often do you feel admiration for Blacks
Purpose is associated with
• More positive Affect/events and lesser Negative affect. • + Happiness • + Generativity and Personal Growth • + Income and Net Worth • + Delayed gratification --> Purposeful people tend to opt to wait for the larger amount of money later on. • + Hope / Personal Agency --> They are more agentic and believe that they are capable of doing things that will matter. • + Health maintenance --> They invest in their health more→ preventative healthcare. • + Learning Engagement / Attention --> Better engaged and focused in learning contexts. They can stay the course longer and not check out. • + sleep quality and duration They think about the kinds of contributions they can make to other people. These people are accumulating a lot of experiences that contribute to their wellbeing profile.
Social Environment Hazards and Health Effects
• Violence • Crime • Social isolation • Low levels of interpersonal trust • Public disorder • Anxiety • Fear • Hyper-vigilance • Depression • Stress related behavior (over-eating, smoking, addiction)